El Hondo / Fondo

[Mick]

Hi All.

I am heading east shortly and will be passing this site on my travelles, I know that access is difficult and very restricted but is there an access point / viewing site where I will have a chance of seeing any of the Great Spotted Eagle.

Thanks for any help Mick Richardson

[Toots]

Hi Mick, Happy New Year!
We tried to call in at El Hondo once and the (huge) entrance gate was locked for no real reason that I could acertain. Maybe you have to arrange a visit beforehand?
Hope to catch up with you soon.
Ellie

[Mick]

Hi Ellie.

Yes Happy New Year to you as well. The reserve does have very restricted visiting but I know that there are spots on the fringes where you can observe the birds and thought that one of the local birds might be willing to give me a clue.

Thanks Mick.

[Mick]

Hi Ellie.

Visited El Fondo yesterday and caught up with a cracking adult Great Spotted Eagle with some good info from the Spanish birders in Granada.

Mick.

[Barrie]

We have been to El Hondo several times in the past, both on our own and with the Costa Blanca Bird Club, but not for over 18 months now.

There has been a dispute over water rights that has resulted in very retricted access over the last few years. I do not know the current state. (Jules, a subscriber to this forum, is very active in the Costa Blanca Bird Club and might well know the up to date situation. Alternatively contact Malcolm Palmer, the president of the CBBC, at writer.palmer8@gmail.com)

In the past, to get access you had to contact the visitor centre at least a day ahead and arrange to be let in. A warden then meet you at the Northern Gate early in the morning. You had to leave at lunch time. (The Northern gate is alongside a pumping station on an aqueduct that runs right down N - S through the reserve, at 38°12'17.83"N  0°45'51.07"W.)

If you do get in that way, you can only go about half way down towards the southern gate - basically to the northern end of the lagoons on the eastern side of the aqueduct, where there is a high level viewing platform - though you can get better views if you go past the platform to a hide a couple of hundred metres further east.

If you cannot get into the reserve itself, then go to the Southern Gate at  38° 9'48.93"N   0°44'6.92"W. You can never get inside from here but if you go up onto the top of the bank just to the east of the gate and you can see right up the lagoon. With a telescope you can see lots, especially booted eagles around this spot.

From the Visitor Centre (at 38°11'13.01"N   0°47'27.23"W) there is a circular walk. About half way round there is a slightly raised platform. From this, with a telescope you can see over to the main reserve so even if you cannot get in there, you still have a chance of seeing the Spotted eagle.

Hope this is not too late to be of some help.

Barrie